Choices
by rosa suscipit
Summary: Nico di Angelo has a difficult choice ahead of him (full synopsis inside, wouldn't fit in the box!). One sided, canonical Nico/Percy. A bit silly and a bit angsty.
1. PART ONE

_Full Synopsis: Nico di Angelo is still in love with Percy Jackson and he is having difficulty coping with his emotions, after his father dissuades him from leaping into the river Lethe he goes on a short journey to find the Goddess Aphrodite in Cyprus. Once there she gives him an impossible choice; destroy Percy Jackson's happiness or live with the intense emotions that are slowly killing him?_

**Choices**

The river sang softly as it rushed past, carving its way through the black soil like a satin ribbon, its song was melancholy and made the boy slightly sleepy. His feet crunched over gravel and pebbles as he inched closer, his black sword gripped in one pale hand as he stared into the depths of the river, the point dragged a line in the earth like the furrow of a plough. Nico took a soft breath, barely audible over the soft murmur of the water.

"It would be unwise to get too close."

Nico spun around, his sword rising into a defensive position at the sound of the voice, he gasped as recognition filled his eyes and he allowed his weapon to drop back. "What do you want?" He asked, turning his back on the dark figure and once again staring morosely into the water, as if it had hypnotised him.

"Want? I do not want anything, Nico."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I sensed you nearby and I had a feeling you needed someone to speak to."

"I'm fine." Nico lifted his gaze again, frowning off into the seemingly never ending distance.

"Hmm." Hades hummed doubtfully and stepped forward, his robes trailing over the black pebbles, barely stirring them as he too looked into the river. "I can understand your wish to forget."

"No you don't." Nico grumbled, his hands clenching into fists, his sword hilt biting into his palm.

"I have been judging the dead long enough to know that mortals have a tendency to prefer the easier path, rather than struggle through the pains and rigours of life. For you, it would be easier to forget, easier for you to return to a life of ignorance, but is that what you truly wish? Memories are important, Nico. They mould mortals, they make them who they are."

"Why do you even care? You were never around! You could have stopped Bianca from-" Hades raised a hand and Nico closed his mouth on his words, glaring in anger at his father.

"You know very well why I could not interfere, child. It was bad enough that Zeus murdered your mother, if I had alerted him to your return he could have taken your life as well, that I could not stand." Hades frowned at the shadows, which seemed to move towards him, being sucked into his robes like moths into a flame. "If you were to bathe in the Lethe you would forget them all, your sister, your mother, myself and…Percy Jackson." Nico flinched as if his father had hit him, he looked down at his feet. "There is not much that escapes my attention, my power stretches far and I see much. You must understand that during ancient times, when we God's were worshipped properly, no one was condemned by who they became attracted to. It was an accepted part of their society, as it will be again one day. Already, the world changes, the time in which you were born is over and a new age has begun, _people_ are changing." Hades paused and considered his son for a moment before lifting his hand and producing a map from a brief flicker of shadow. "Take this, on it is marked the location of Aphrodite's temple in Pathos, Cyprus. If anyone can help you, she can."

Nico gazed at the map in his father's hand for a long time before taking it from him in a shaking hand, he sheathed his sword and looked down at the ancient looking parchment. "What will she do?"

Hades shrugged. "I cannot say, she is an enigma."

Nico put the map in his pocket after memorising the red 'x' that marked the location of the temple. "Why would you do this for me?"

"Why? Because I loved your mother, once upon a time and you are the last living reminder of her…and I owe you an apology, I was remiss when I thought that you had no worth, I regret my rash words." Hades paused, frowning as if every word was costing him huge amounts of effort to speak, finally he continued, "Now go, speak to Aphrodite and decide what path you wish to take."

Nico watched his father disappear into the darkness, he couldn't understand what had just happened, had Hades, the Lord of Underworld, just _apologised_? He shook his head, preferring to think he had misheard. He took one last look at the river which seemed to call his name before he turned and allowed the shadows to swallow him whole.

His father had given him enough money to buy a plane ticket, since it would be extremely tiring to Shadow-travel that far and going by sea would be too painful. The trip was short and uneventful, he wasn't entirely comfortable travelling by air. He arrived at Pathos airport unharmed but incredibly hot, he shed his aviator jacket and pushed hair from his eyes as he gazed around and tried to get his bearings. Finally he brought out the map and studied it once more before shadows reached up around him and he disappeared.

The Temple of Aphrodite was a ruin of white columns, broken walls and arches. It had a stunning view of the mountains and had plenty of tourists taking pictures and wondering around. Nico frowned, he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing there, surrounded by Tourists, and searching for the Goddess of Love. It was stupid, she couldn't help him, no one could. He was doomed to spend his life mooning after someone he could never have, he sighed and walked towards what remained of the temple, its arches and columns still intact, he looked up and sighed heavily, when he returned his eyes to the ground he spotted a woman sitting on a low wall and apparently admiring the view. Instantly his whole body tingled and he knew who she was, she turned and smiled at him, beckoning him over. She was wearing traditional Grecian robes of white, flowing material, her hair cascaded down her back and changed colour as if it was trying to encompass every possible hair colour in the world. Her face moved and changed so often it made Nico a little sea-sick, he had to look away and gazed out over the mountains. Birds chirped along with cicadas and the grounds wobbled in a haze of heat, he lifted an arm and wiped sweat from his brow.

"Nico di Angelo, I have been expecting you." Aphrodite said softly. "I would have come to you but I suspected that you would not have welcomed me." Nico had no response to that so he scuffed his shoe across the dirt and pushed his hands into his pockets. "I like it here, despite the fact that Olympus has moved to New York, this place is almost like my birthplace, it is a true home to me."

"I wouldn't know what that felt like, having a true home…"

"Ah, but you do. After all, home is where the heart is, as the Mortals say." She laughed brightly and kicked her sandaled feet like a little girl on a swing. "You've come to me for advice." It wasn't a question so Nico didn't deign to answer. "Very well, what is it you want, Nico di Angelo?"

"I…I'm not sure." He muttered after a brief pause, still determinedly frowning into the distance.

"I am willing to help you, but you must first know what you want." Aphrodite looked at him, he could feel her piercing gaze on him, like a nail in the heart and his hands clenched on the stone wall he was perched on. Around him the ground trembled, a few cracks began to appear and stones rattled as they danced away from him. The Goddess placed a hand upon his arm and he instantly felt calmer, the tremors subsided and he let out a slow breath. "You are a confused child; I can see that even without my powers." She lifted her hand and a mirror appeared in it, it was golden and ornate, decorated with laurels. "Look into this mirror and tell me what you see."

Nico took the mirror automatically and stared into its reflective surface, at first he only saw himself, a skinny boy with black hair and olive skin. He frowned and opened his mouth to speak but before he could his image changed, now there were a pair of sea green eyes staring back at him, he almost threw the mirror away in shock. Percy Jackson was leaning against a pillar in what appeared to be Camp Half-Blood's dining pavilion, he was laughing at something Nico couldn't see, his black hair falling into his face. The image caused Nico's heart to race, his mouth felt dry and all the old awkwardness and terror welled up inside him, he pulled his eyes away and his hand clenched so hard on the mirror he almost broke it. "You know what I see; tell me what I can do about it!"

"Love is a knife edge, Nico di Angelo. Some call it the most wonderful emotion in the world, others would call it the worst. There is a fine line between love and hate, they generally come hand in hand and it takes a strong person to prevent one from crossing into the other. It can cause intense joy but also abject misery, it can buoy you up until, like Jason Grace, you think you can fly or it can make you fall so hard it could kill you. Then there is jealousy." She gave Nico a knowing look, forcing him to look away from her. "Jealousy corrupts even true love; it also adds a wonderful twist to any story plot." She added as an afterthought. "I do adore love triangles."

"I…I hero worshipped him…"

"Indeed, and who wouldn't? Percy Jackson is a strong and capable hero; he even managed to capture the romantic interest of Annabeth Chase who I had always assumed was too in love with buildings to see anything else." She made a face of distaste at the thought of someone being uninterested in love and desire. "You must make a choice, Nico di Angelo, I can help you if you want me to." She lifted her hand and once again something appeared in her palm, it was a vial of pink liquid. "This is a love potion so powerful too much of it can kill even a demi-god. If you were to give just a drop of this to Percy Jackson he will fall instantly in love with you, he would be yours forever. Just a single drop in his food or drink will do the trick, any more and he will explode like a helium balloon."

Nico took the vial, his heart hammering in his chest so hard he was afraid it may just tear right through his ribs and flee towards the mountains. "What…what will happen if I give him this?" He whispered, his voice barely audible over the low chatter of the surrounding tourists who seemed utterly oblivious to the thin boy and stunning woman sitting on the low wall.

"Oh, Annabeth Chase would be heartbroken, of course, I do enjoy heartbreak, it adds a bit of dramatic flair."

"No, I mean, what will happen to Percy?"

"Why, he will fall head over heels in love with you!" Aphrodite exclaimed, smiling broadly. "Isn't that what you want?"

"I…I'm not sure." He stared at the garish pink liquid within the flask as if it were a vial of Greek Fire and would explode if not handled carefully. "Will there be any side effects?"

"There's always side effects, child of Hades. As I said before, Love is a double edged sword, it can go either way. It can cause obsession and that is unhealthy, it can even become dangerous. Then, of course, you would have to live with the knowledge that you forcefully took away Percy Jackson's true happiness and replaced it with something false. This is your choice, you must either take what you want or allow Percy to live his life in happiness. What do you want for him, Nico?"

Nico frowned down at the potion in his hands, he turned it slowly and sighed. "Why do I always have to choose? No matter what I do my choice is going to cause pain, whether to myself or others."

Aphrodite smiled, "That is the way of unrequited love, Nico. Now, I shall help you return to America where I will enjoy watching your story play out."

Nico frowned but before he could speak his eyes felt heavy, he fell backwards into a deep sleep.

XXX

When he next opened his eyes he found himself gazing up at the star spattered sky, he blinked and coughed, water poured from his lungs and he shivered as he realised he was soaking wet.

"Nico? Are you all right?"

"Huh?" Nico turned his head and found himself face to face with Percy Jackson who was gazing down at him with concern written across his face, his black hair fell across his forehead and his sea green eyes looked strange in the moonlight. "What happened?" Nico muttered, slowly sitting up.

"I don't know, I was woken up by someone telling me to come to the beach and I spotted you drifting around in the surf, unconscious and half-drowned."

Nico turned and looked out to sea, his shoes were soaked through, his jacket drenched and he felt as if he had been doused in ice water. He shivered, teeth chattering as he sent a few select curse words to Aphrodite, finally he returned his attention to Percy and wished he hadn't when his heart seemed to skip a beat. "Well…I guess…thanks…" He muttered, averting his eyes and glaring furiously at the sand. Percy was wearing a pair of pyjama bottoms, his chest seemed to glimmer under the moonlight and it made Nico's face burn, when Percy moved to help him to his feet he shrugged him off violently. "Don't touch me!" He snapped and forced himself into a standing position, using his unsheathed sword as a crutch to steady himself. Percy raised both hands, backing off a pace, a small smile dancing around his mouth. "I…I must have annoyed someone…"

Percy looked him up and down, a frown creasing his forehead. "Um…what in the gods' names are you wearing?"

Nico looked down at himself slowly and felt horror sink its icy blade into his gut, Aphrodite had decided to re-dress him before dumping him unceremoniously into the sea. Instead of his usual aviator jacket he now wore a light weight pale coloured jacket with a pair of blue jeans. He made a face of distaste before spotting something black hanging on the branch of a tree, his eyes lit up and he moved towards it, Percy following curiously, he yanked it down and realised it was his own well loved aviator jacket. "She gave it back." He muttered to himself as he shrugged off the pale jacket and replaced it with his own, he was instantly warm again.

"She? Who's 'she'?" Percy asked, his confusion written plainly across his handsome face.

"No one." Nico replied sharply. In his pocket his fingers closed around the vial of potion, it felt warm beneath his touch like the gentle heat from a candle flame. He cleared his throat and turned his back on Percy Jackson, attempting to gather all his thoughts and order his feelings.

"So…do you know why this 'she' sent you to Camp?"

"I…I think I do." Nico replied slowly, unsure just what he was supposed to do now. Percy waited in expectant silence; finally Nico turned to him and looked him right in the eyes. "Do you…do you want to take a walk?" He asked, forcing the words out from between his teeth so that they came out far harsher than he had intended.

Percy grinned. "A moonlit walk on the beach? How very romantic of you, di Angelo!" He laughed and gestured for Nico to go ahead of him.

"Shut up, Jackson." Nico muttered, glaring at Percy who looked a little crestfallen that his joke hadn't amused him. He was here to make his decision but he still hadn't made up his mind, he wanted Percy to be happy but Percy's happiness depended on Annabeth who wasn't Nico. He also wanted Percy to like him, to return his feelings, but that would open up a whole new terrible vista of strange possibilities that he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with yet. He walked with his hands in his pockets, his scabbard moving softly with each step he took and leaving damp footprints behind in the sand. He could feel Percy's burning curiosity, almost like a physical weight between his shoulder blades and it made him extremely uncomfortable. He had hoped that he would have had more time to contemplate his next move before he had to encounter his crush for a while but Aphrodite obviously had other ideas, he could easily imagine her curled up on some celestial sofa with Ares and a bowl of popcorn, watching his fumbling progress avidly as if his life were a stupid TV drama. It made him sick and angry so that as he walked bones began emerging from the earth around his feet, he kicked an unfortunate thigh bone into the sea where it disappeared with a soft splash.

"So…where are we going?" Percy asked, stepping up to Nico's side and looking at him curiously.

"I…I don't know." Nico replied, unable to find words to fully explain himself, so instead he gazed down at his feet and moved on in silence.

"Ok then." Percy seemed to be ok with the odd situation, he walked and looked out at sea with a slightly wistful expression as if he were thinking about something close to his heart. The sight made Nico feel breathless like some giant was standing on his lungs and suffocating him, so he followed Percy's gaze and came to an abrupt halt. Percy walked into him, sending Nico stumbling forward a pace. "What's wrong? Why have we stopped?"

Nico frowned at the sea, he could swear he could see a man in a small fishing boat, standing in the prow and glaring directly at him. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself in unconscious protection. "Don't…don't you see that?"

"See what?" Percy frowned as he followed Nico's gaze, slowly he seemed to focus on what Nico could see. "Oh that's-_Dad_?" The man in the boat flickered and disappeared as if he had never been there, Percy blinked and frowned. "What was that all about? Why didn't he at least come and say Hi?!" The bitterness in Percy's voice was something Nico could relate to, in fact most demigods could relate to, the bitterness of an absent parent who only visited when they wanted something from you. But Nico also knew that Poseidon had not been there to visit his son, somehow he knew that it was a warning. The bottle in his pocket grew warmer as he closed his fist around it. How could Poseidon know about his issues? How could he know what Aphrodite had given him? Could Nico have any secrets that weren't instantly known by the whole of Olympus? He sniffed and kicked at the ground where sand began to dribble into little cracks in the earth's crust.

"Come on, let's go." Nico muttered, feeling bitterness and anger welling up inside him like a tornado. He shivered and lowered his head, hiding beneath his hair.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked, taking a small step away from his companion and eyeing him warily as black and purple began to swirl around him like a weird wind storm. "Why are you really here, Nico?"

"It doesn't matter, I was being stupid, just go back to camp-" Once again his feet came to a halt when he spotted a strange collection of items that sat on the beach before them. There was a blanket with a picnic basket and everything else needed for a romantic moonlit date, Nico groaned inwardly, the picnic was placed far enough away from the shore so that the waves wouldn't ruin it but Nico was pretty sure they were giving it a good go as they crept closer and closer at unnatural speed.

Pcery too came to a halt, his eyes wide as he stared at the picnic, something seemed to flicker behind them, as if he was starting to realise something. "N-Nico…what…why…I don't quite…"

Nico felt panic surge in his chest, he grabbed Percy and pulled him away from the picnic only to find that it had appeared behind them. He was obviously not going to escape Aphrodite's machinations. Now a few candles had been added to the scene for 'romantic atmosphere', Nico shuddered. "I think we're…we're being messed with." He whispered, glaring at the picnic basket as if it was insulting him.

"I think you might be right." Percy said with a small, uncertain smile. "I honestly have no idea what is happening but there's no point in letting good food go to waste, is there?" He shrugged and moved warily over to the basket which was pink with twin doves engraved in the clasp on the front. "Well, this is unusual…Nico, why is Aphrodite's symbol on this basket? Is this her doing?"

Nico shifted uncomfortably. "I have a feeling that this is her idea of-of a prank…or something…" He looked away, unable to hold Percy's gaze for long.

"I see, well, I'm up for a midnight snack if you are?"

Nico looked back to see Percy open the basket and start rummaging through it, he pulled out junk food, drinks and all kinds of varieties of candy. Nico inched closer, drawn by the alluring smell of food as he realised he hadn't eaten in a long time, the burgers and fries were still steaming hot and his stomach grumbled. He sat down on the very edge of the blanket and gazed up at the candles, shadows reached upwards, making Percy leap back as they extinguished the candles. Percy shook his head, smiling. "You could have done that by hand, you know."

Nico shrugged listlessly and drew his knees to his chest. "It was easier to put them out all at once." He replied tonelessly.

Percy handed him a burger. "Eat." He insisted gently. "You always look like half a skeleton, I do wonder what you eat down there in the Underworld."

Nico couldn't help the small smile that graced his face as he took the food and began to unwrap it. "I can't eat anything, remember?"

"Oh…yeah."

"I come to the surface for food and supplies, my father isn't the best host."

They ate in silence, Percy staring out to sea with that soft frown as if he knew something about his future that no one else did. As if he knew that somewhere there was going to be a monster he couldn't defeat. Nico pushed that thought aside, it was too much to bear to imagine Percy dying, on that score he was certain Annabeth and he agreed. For a while the silence was companionable, Nico tried not to relax, he kept his shoulders hunched and a dark brooding frown on his face as he ate methodically. He tried to ignore that Percy was close to hand, he could hear him shifting and couldn't resist stealing covert glances at him that made his chest ache worse than ever. The waves crept closer, until they were touching the tip of Nico's shoes, he drew away from them but he felt as if they were warning him away. Percy frowned at the waves which had left a large dry patch where he was sitting to specifically target Nico. "Why is the sea trying to get you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"I…I don't know. Maybe it's another Godly joke or your father wants to murder me for some reason." He kicked out at the water and stood up, Percy waved his hand and the water reversed its course, returning to the main body.

"I don't think so somehow." Percy looked at Nico carefully. "Aphrodite's symbols, a romantic picnic by the beach, my father sending you not-so-subtle warnings…what is going on here? You know something, don't you?"

"Kind of…" Nico breathed, giving Percy a pained look. "It's a private matter, a joke, you could say…from…from the Gods. I-I…I don't really want to talk about it."

"Hmm." Percy's frown evaporated and he smiled. "This 'she' you were talking about earlier, is it someone you like? Is that why Aphrodite left out this food?" He leaned close, so close Nico could smell him, he smelt like the sea but with a hint of humanity, his eyes held a glint of mischief and he smiled brightly. "Were you supposed to meet someone here and go on a date?"

"Um…you could say that…" fear and embarrassment made him flush, his cheeks burned and he knew he must have been as red as a tomato.

Percy drew away again, much to Nico's relief. "I'm sorry they never turned up, Nico."

"Oh…yeah…" Nico gave a nervous laugh, his eyes landed upon a lonely can of soda, it was sat close to hand and he picked it up as Percy went back to gazing out at the waves.

"I brought Annabeth here once." He muttered, seemingly to himself. "We went for a walk and sat on the beach holding hands." His face lit up with a smile, it was the most beautiful thing Nico had witnessed, his heart seemed to treble it's speed. He also felt a dull pulse of resentment and anger, he had known Percy would mention his girlfriend, it was a perfectly normal thing to do for a guy who was as obviously in love as he was but Nico hated it. It seemed to sap the tiny amount of joy he had been feeling out of the whole situation, he glared at the drink in his hand and opened it, before Percy could look around he put in a single drop of the potion. His movements were swift and precise and the potion was back in his pocket before Percy turned around. "Hey, is that soda blue?"

Nico looked down at it and, sure enough, the liquid inside was blue. He frowned in confusion, he had assumed it was a normal soda, maybe the potion had changed its colour? "It seems so."

"How did you know?" Percy asked, his grin widening brightly. "Blue food and drink is my favourite thing, kind of a running joke between my mom and I." He plucked the soda out of Nico's numb fingers and brought it to his lips, Nico felt terror tear down his spine as guilt fused with all his wild emotions. The ground rumbled dangerously as he leaped forward, snatching the drink from Percy's hand and falling on top of him. They struggled a little before Nico pushed himself up onto his hands and looked down into Percy's confused face. "What is going on? I mean, really Nico, you can tell me."

Nico shook his head, his breathing catching in his throat and his eyes drifting helplessly to Percy's lips. He swallowed a lump in his throat before forcing himself to sit up, he looked down at the half-empty can in his hand before throwing it into the sea where a wave leapt up and swallowed it whole. "I…I'm sorry…I have to go…" He struggled to his feet, stumbling backwards as panic obscured his thinking, he adjusted his clothes and drew his sword. "This is why I need to stay in the Underworld." He muttered, mostly to himself.

"What…because of me?" Percy's hurt expression made Nico's guilt worse, he stamped his foot in frustration and lifted his hand to his hair.

"No! No! Yes! I-I…I don't know!" he screamed, causing the earth beneath his feet to groan and shadows to reach towards him. "I'm sorry Percy, I have to g-go!" He turned and made to run into the woods but Percy grabbed his arm, swinging him around so that they were face to face.

"Not again, I'm not going to let you just disappear!" He growled angrily. "Just tell me what's up and I can help you! If you're in trouble or-or-"

"No! Let me go!" Nico yanked himself free and took several steps back. "You belong with Annabeth, you're…you're perfect together, I see that! I know that! I'm so…so stupid! I shouldn't have come at all! What was I thinking! _Ti amo e non posso dirvi, perdonami!__*****_" He looked at Percy intently, his eyes conveying nothing but regret and pain. "_Io sono un cretino_!*" He spat furiously before looking away, trying to calm himself enough to take control of his emotions but it was hard, there was so much confusion, so much hurt and anger in him that he couldn't seem to get a proper grip on himself. "I-I…I'm going now." He managed to whisper, turning and fleeing towards the forest where the shadows embraced him like a mother's arms.

***Basically Nico just confessed his feelings to Percy but in Italian, knowing he wouldn't know what he was talking about. I used an internet translator (not Google, I KNOW that's dodgy) as I don't speak Italian, despite my love of the language. I apologise if I have got this wrong in any form, I hope it makes sense to those who speak it and I hope it's not something really stupid. I'm British but I have tried to use American terms for items such as 'candy' and 'soda' and I'm not used to writing like that so if I made a mistake I apologise (just in case, lol). This is my first (and probably ONLY) Percy Jackson fic, it's short and probably not that exciting but I love Nico so much and I just HAD to write something about him. I will also apologise if the characters are a little OOC because, although I tried very, very hard to keep them in character, I probably didn't do it justice. Anyway, I hope enjoyed, despite my many failings. Any reviews would be most welcome. :)**


	2. PART TWO

AN: Well, this went on for longer than I first anticipated. Turns out this fic will have multiple instalments. I am enjoying writing this, I hope you're all enjoying it as well. Thank you.

**Choices Part 2**

Hades watched his son sitting on the cold stone floor with his head buried in his arms, his knees drawn protectively against his chest and his fingers gripping the sleeves of his old jacket as if it were a life line. He sighed softly and moved forward, Nico's head jerked up and a feral, slightly wild look entered his eyes as he snarled furiously at his father, the boy had so much anger and hatred inside of him it was heartbreaking to see, although Hades could well understand. Bitterness, anger and resentment were a family trait apparently. "I assume that it did not go well?" He asked, causing Nico to look away in shame.

"I couldn't do it. I couldn't give him the potion and now…now I have to live with knowing he'll n-never return my feelings."

"There are always ways to get someone to take notice of you, Nico. Just look at Persephone and I, we are now…well, happy is not a word I would use to describe myself but we are content together."

"Are you trying to tell me to kidnap Percy and drag him to the underworld against his will?" Nico asked in shock.

"I suppose I could tolerate a son of Poseidon living in my realm if it would make you happy." He conceded reluctantly.

"Father, you have a lot to learn. Do you really think Poseidon would just accept me stealing his son? His reaction would be ten times worse than what Demeter did, and the world nearly died!"

"Yes, I suppose he would be rather angry."

"Angry wouldn't cover it. He was threatening me when I was on the beach; he even tried to drown me to prevent me from hurting Percy."

"My brother has no control over his emotions, he has always been unpredictable, even more so than Zeus. But, if you were to do it and Percy _chose _to stay here with you then perhaps that would assuage Poseidon's fury?" Hades didn't have much hope for that plan, he knew his brother better than anyone else, except for maybe Zeus and it was very easy to imagine the Sea God drowning the whole of America in his fury. But, he had to try something, Nico was close to taking drastic measures and erasing his own memories, becoming like Bob, his new Titan Janitor. Hades wouldn't stand for an idiot for a son, Zeus would never let him live it down.

Nico shook his head slowly, the grief in his eyes was painful to see, even for the God of the Underworld. "He would never choose to stay here, father. You know that as well as I do. He loves Annabeth, how can I ever compare to her?"

Hades had no idea what to do, he felt the sudden urge to run away, emotions weren't really his area of expertise. In fact, dealing with the living in general left him horribly confused. "Perhaps if she were to come to an unfortunate end…?" He suggested, eyeing his son hopefully and merely getting a disgusted look in response.

"No! I don't want her dead!" Nico sighed heavily and pushed both hands into his hair. "Just…just leave me alone, stop trying to cheer me up, it's only making me more depressed."

"Very well then, I hope to see you at dinner." Hades moved away, he had forgotten just how petulant and emotional mortal teenagers could be. The hormones raging through their systems made them impossible, how did mortal parents cope?

XXX

Annabeth first noticed that something was wrong with Percy when she tried to talk to him at breakfast; he was vague and disinterested as she tried to engage him in conversation. His face was pale and he had dark shadows beneath his eyes as if he had been suffering from nightmares, it scared her but when she tried to confront him about it he snapped at her and told her to go away. As she watched him she began to notice that his mind wasn't into what he was doing, during sparring practice he allowed several younger, less experienced kids get in hits that would normally have never got to him. He was angry and constantly snipping at his fellow campers, many people had begun to avoid him. At one point, during a training skirmish he had even nearly killed Clarisse with a solid wall of water. She had screamed at him in fury but he had simply walked away. Annabeth couldn't understand it, it was as if he had had a personality transplant over night, the idea of possession hovered at the edges of her mind but she dismissed that, Percy didn't seem as if he were possessed. He barely ate anything all day, picking morosely at his food and ignoring even Grover's attempts to cheer him up, finally she got tired of it and tried to talk to him.

"Percy?" She asked cautiously as he sat on the shore of the canoeing lake and stared at the water, she noticed he was creating a miniature whirlpool. "You've been acting strange, is something wrong?"

He lifted a stick and threw it into the water, causing the Nymphs to scurry out of the way. "No. I'm fine."

"Oh really? So it's normal for you to use too much force and nearly seriously harm one of your friends, is it?" She snapped, unable to hide her growing frustration.

Percy sighed heavily, rubbing at his eyes. "I didn't mean to, she just pissed me off. I…I've been thinking a lot about…about him…"

"Who?" Annabeth frowned as Percy stood up and began pacing restlessly, running a hand through his hair and frowning angrily down at the ground. This was so unlike her boyfriend she was a little afraid.

"Nico, of course!" He snapped, glaring at her.

"Percy, did something happen to him? Is he all right?"

"I hope so." Percy sighed, gazing off into the distance like someone from a soap opera who was in love, she began to feel dread creep into her chest where it sat like an anvil. "He appeared last night on the beach, I saved him from drowning." He smiled warmly, a smile Annabeth knew too well as it had usually been directed at her.

"What was he doing at the beach?" She asked, trying to push away her dread.

"Oh, something about Aphrodite, we had a picnic."

"A…a picnic with Aphrodite?" She asked, feeling nerves gnaw at her guts as she wondered just what the Goddess was playing at now.

"No! Nico and I, we had a picnic on the beach, it was nice." Percy smiled again. "I didn't realise how nice his hair is under the moonlight…it's so soft looking…" His voice trailed off as he drifted away on his thoughts.

"Percy," Annabeth began slowly, her voice low and dangerous. "What happened?"

"He even knew I liked blue food and drink, isn't that cute?"

Annabeth could find no words as she stared up at her boyfriend, although how much longer she'd be able to call him that she didn't know. "Y-You…and N-Nico…?" She breathed, unable to truly process what Percy was hinting at.

"He's adorable, isn't he?" Percy replied, misinterpreting Annabeth's tone. "When he was wet when I pulled him out of the sea he looked so tiny…I don't know…He probably doesn't even like me. He ran away."

"I don't blame him if this is the way you were acting." Annabeth muttered, she stood up and glared at Percy. "Percy, maybe you should come with me, I think we need to talk to Piper."

"Yeah, good idea! Maybe she can tell me how to get Nico's attention and tell him how I feel!" His smile was so bright and so happy that Annabeth wanted to cry, scream and beat him to a bloody pulp all at the same time, but she took a deep breath and squashed those urges.

"Come on, let's go." She said in a tight voice and led him away from the lake. She would never let Aphrodite get away with this, if she had done something to make him act this way she was going to get her revenge.

Piper was sat outside the Aphrodite cabin, apparently reading when they arrived, she looked up and smiled. "Hi guys, what's wrong?" She asked, seeing Annabeth's pale face and hurt expression.

"There's something wrong with Percy, I think…I think maybe your mom cursed him or something…he…he's acting weird."

Percy grinned at Piper and grabbed her hand. "I need your help!" He asked, pain entering his eyes and his expression twisting, making him look as if he'd been sick, or was going to be.

"I need to know what's happened." She said and patted the floor beside her, when her friends had joined her she looked at them expectantly.

"Last night Percy apparently saved Nico from drowning and then…" Annabeth made a face, as if it was difficult to talk about. "They had a picnic on the beach."

"Yeah, it was really romantic." Percy said in a soft voice, smiling as he pulled up the grass by his feet.

Piper forced her face to remain straight, it was difficult not to laugh at Percy's sappy expression. "What do you mean? I can't imagine Nico being…um…romantic…"

"Apparently it was your mom's idea, she did something to Percy and I think…I think he's…he's got feelings for N-Nico…"

"Oh." Piper gazed at Percy with wide eyes before returning her attention to Annabeth. "Oh, I'm sorry. I need to know what she did before I can think of a way to reverse it."

"We had burgers." Percy said helpfully, grinning like a loon. "I want to ask him out again, do you think he'd like to go for dinner or…or maybe a movie?"

Annabeth winced, anger and jealousy warring within her, "Please, help us Piper." She said quietly.

"I'll try." Piper said, elbowing Percy who was leaning on her shoulder and sighing as he imagined possible scenario's with Nico. "I think we may need to find Nico and get him to tell us what happened."

Percy looked up, hope lighting his eyes as he eagerly leaned forward. "Find Nico? I want to find Nico!"

They were forced to wait an hour before they could go and see Chiron and get permission to leave Camp and find Nico di Angelo, Percy's obvious infatuation with the son of Hades wore on Annabeth's nerves until finally she could stand it no longer, she walked away, leaving Percy to talk to the nymphs and other nature spirits about his feelings for Nico. When she returned he wasn't there. She panicked and ran to find Piper who was just explaining to Jason where they were going, they were leaving the Zeus cabin when Annabeth ran into them.

"Woah, Annabeth, calm down!" Jason said, holding her by the shoulders so she didn't hurt herself by running into the wall.

"He's g-gone! Percy's gone!" She gasped. "He's gone again! What if…what if he's in trouble a-and I can't find him again?"

"We will find him, he's got to be around here somewhere." Piper said soothingly and Annabeth relaxed, feeling herself agreeing.

XXX

Nico opened his eyes, he didn't remember falling asleep. The last thing he did remember was his father trying to cheer him up, now as he looked around himself, he realised he was somehow lying on the edge of a very high cliff. He climbed to his feet slowly, realising, a little belatedly, that he was unarmed. He frowned and crept cautiously towards the cliff edge, he looked down and saw the sea stretching for miles around him, a warm breeze stirred his hair and he frowned. How had he got here? He looked up and saw an impossibly steep rock rearing above him, it had no visible hand or foot holds. Nico muttered a few curses in ancient Greek and Italian before sitting down and staring out at the churning water hundreds of feet below. He sighed heavily and squinted as the sun began to set, how he had got there he had no idea, nor how he was supposed to escape. He couldn't risk opening a hole in the ground, as that could sever the rock at his feet and send him plunging into the depths. He couldn't risk shadow travelling either as he had no idea where he was or how far away he was from anywhere he knew, he could end up killing himself from travelling too far. As he considered his predicament he spotted something in the water far below him, as he watched a huge spout of water rose until there was a massive column of it, like a geyser, with a familiar boy sitting on top of it.

Percy smiled as he stepped off of the water and onto dry land, Nico stood up, backing away a few paces. Something about him was different and it made him wary. "Hi, I was told you'd be here." Percy said calmly, as if this was a perfectly ordinary occurrence.

"Who told you? I don't even know where I am!"

"Aphrodite told me you were here, something about you needed rescuing. So, I've come to help. You look upset…has someone hurt you? I'll kill them if you want." He withdrew Riptide, its celestial bronze glow lighting his face and making him look a little mad.

"No…I'm fine. Percy, are _you_ all right?" Nico asked cautiously.

"I'm fine, never been better…especially now i'm with you." He smiled again, his eyes softening as he stepped towards Nico, advancing as if he were facing down an enemy.

"Um…y-you sure? You don't look well."

"Nico…last night was amazing, I've been thinking about you a lot recently." Percy sat down suddenly and looked up at Nico with wide eyes. "I think…I think I like you." He said suddenly causing Nico to stumble back again until his back hit the rock, his fingers dug into it as all the colour drained from his face.

"Don't…don't mess me around like that…that's…that's not fair. H-how…how could you?"

"I'm not messing around, I really mean it!"

"What about Annabeth?" Nico breathed, gazing at Percy with huge eyes.

"Oh, her? She doesn't matter. That was a mistake, I thought I loved her but when I saw you on the beach I must have changed my mind because when I woke up this morning you were all I could think about." He smiled sappily, a look that Nico decided he never wanted to see on Percy's face again, it made him look stupid.

"This is wrong! I didn't give you any potion! This shouldn't be happening!"

"Why? What's so wrong about it? I love you Nico, we were destined to be together!" Percy stood up, moving towards Nico with intent, causing him to cringe against the wall helplessly.

"I didn't want it to be this way!" He whispered, looking up at the taller boy as Percy slid a hand around the back of his neck and drew him close. Nico felt as if he had looked into Medusa's face, his whole body was frozen solid as Percy drew him to his lips. The kiss sent unexpected heat right into Nico's lungs where he felt as if he were burning from the inside out. His eyes fell closed and his body tingled pleasantly, he didn't understand what was happening and he was in too much shock to fight. Finally he dredged up his will and pushed Percy away from him, sending him stumbling backwards with a painfully hurt expression on his face. "No. No this isn't meant to be happening! I don't want you like this, I-I never wanted to hurt you!"

"Then why are you pushing me away? I'm all yours now Nico." Percy smiled again, a little bit of hope betrayed Nico by warming his heart, he swallowed it back, this boy before him wasn't Percy. He was under some kind of spell or perhaps he really had ingested that potion, whatever the reason this boy wasn't who Nico had loved from the moment he had been saved by him.

"I'm sorry Percy, this is all my fault. W-we'll get you fixed right up, just as soon as we get out of here." He shivered as the wind picked up and the waves below him began to stir, as if something massive was rising from the bottom of the ocean.

Percy turned, his face falling into a familiar frown as he gazed down at the sea. He backed up, pushing Nico back against the wall as a monster the size of ten blue whales reared its ugly head. "Cetus!" Percy gasped, his sword glimmering as he pointed it at the sea monster.

"What?!" Nico stared at the thing, feeling terror suffocate him. "Oh…gods no! Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Why is it a joke?" Percy asked, eyeing the monster as it gazed down at them, huffing the air.

"Cetus is the monster that was sent by your father to devour Andromeda, who was chained to a cliff as a sacrifice. Perseus, the original one, slew it and saved her." Nico sighed wearily, he was becoming tired with God's constantly playing with him as if he were a Mythomagic piece.

"Yeah, I remember Annabeth mentioning it once…any ideas how to kill it?"

"There's two versions of the story, in one Perseus used Medusa's head to turn it to stone, in another he stabbed it in the back." Nico slumped against the wall deciding that it would be best to stay out of this one, if Aphrodite had decided he was going to be 'Andromeda' for the day then so be it, but when he got his sword back he would get revenge upon the stupid Goddess.

"Ok, so…I don't have Medusa's head…I'm going with option two!" Percy leapt forward, using a wave to give him the momentum to land upon the serpents back. Nico watched from his seat on the rock, he wouldn't get involved, no matter how tempting it was. He would play Aphrodite's game, for now.

The creature thrashed in a desperate attempt to dislodge Percy from its scaly back, it roared angrily and writhed but Percy was managing to hold on. Nico watched in mild interest as Percy clambered up its neck until he reached the back of its head, where its neck met the rest of its body. He lifted his sword and Nico watched it plunge downwards until it pierced the armour surrounding the creatures vulnerable back. It screamed and Percy managed to leap free, landing in front of Nico with his sword drawn and his eyes narrowed in concentration. Finally it gave one last plaintive wail before crashing sideways into the mountain and bursting into golden dust. Percy relaxed and smiled, returning Riptide to its pen form, he turned on Nico and held out his hand. "Come on then, I've rescued you from the terrible monster now I've got to take you back."

"Yay." Nico replied sarcastically, taking Percy's hand and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. "So, how do we get down?" Nico asked trying desperately to ignore the heat of Percy's body, which was incredibly difficult when he was so close.

"Same way I got up here." Percy said, smiling as he slid an arm around Nico's waist, making him hiss air through his teeth and stiffen in discomfort. Percy was gentle but Nico really wished his touch didn't feel so good, he squeezed his eyes shut tightly and tried to distract himself by thinking of other things. "Hold on tight." Nico had no choice but to clench his own arms around Percy's waist and let him lift them up on a cyclone of water. "Ok, now you might want to hold your breath for a moment." Percy's breath tickled Nico's ear, he shivered violently and tried not to feel anything but anger, but that was hard when Percy was so close. He felt a wrench in his stomach as they descended rapidly, Percy laughed loudly before cold water covered Nico's head, he tried to avoid gasping in shock. "You're safe now, you can breathe." Percy said and Nico risked opening his eyes, he found himself face to face with Percy and took a deep breath of fresh air. He glanced sideways and realised that they were sitting on the ocean floor, looking up he could see the red/gold hue of the sunset above their heads. They weren't too far down because Nico was pretty sure he'd have been squished flat. Percy was beaming, his arms still wrapped snugly around Nico's waist, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Fish swam slowly by, giving the pair of them brief glances before swimming on again, somewhere in the distance a massive shadow passed. They were surrounded by coral and seaweed, some of it towering above their heads like massive sky scrapers.

"This is…amazing…" Nico whispered, eyes wide in fascination.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Percy replied. "Don't swim too far away from me, I put a bubble around us so we can talk and you can breathe but if you go beyond it you'll drown."

"Yeah." Nico felt a very reluctant smile tugging at his lips as he watched a dolphin dart through the water like a missile. "Do you do this a lot?" He asked, reaching his hand out of his protective bubble and pulling them back in again, slightly surprised that they were wet. The situation was so surreal he could have been dreaming.

"I like to come down here sometimes, if I'm feeling a bit down, yeah…the fish can be quite grumpy though, you'd be surprised."

"This is amazing!" Nico whispered, returning his eyes to Percy's and holding his gaze for a lot longer than appropriate. "Um…how are we going to get back?"

Percy shrugged, "Well, I can call for some help…maybe there's some Hippocampi around who'll be willing to take us back home." He looked around vaguely, his hands still lingering on Nico's waist as if he were preventing him from escaping. "Relax, man, I'm not going to let you drown."

"I-I know…but…Can you let me go, please?" Nico said, averting his gaze and hiding his burning face.

"Oh…oh yeah…sure…" Percy sounded disappointed but he did as Nico asked and let him go, allowing him to sigh in relief and sink to the sandy floor with his legs crossed. "Hang on, I'll just call the cavalry." He gave Nico a bright smile before sticking his head through the wall of the bubble, Nico watched in fascination as bubbles streamed from Percy's mouth, as if he were shouting something before he pulled his head back in with a shrug. "Well, if they're around they would have heard me."

"Good."

They waited in uncomfortable silence as multicoloured fish swam around them, they were even looked at by a huge grey shark which Percy shooed away quickly before it could decide that Nico would make a tasty snack. The sea was almost hypnotic, Nico wasn't sure where to look, everything was so weird and fascinating. He had been underground into the depths of the Underworld, from the fields of Asphodel to the fields of Punishment but he had never been underwater. He must have looked like a wide-eyed five year old as he watched the world around him but he was unable to worry about it despite feeling Percy's lingering gaze on him. Finally, after what felt to Nico like hours, two large fish-horses arrived, tossing their seaweed manes and snorting bubbles. Percy grinned and looked at them in silence for a moment before turning back to Nico. "They're willing to give us a ride, hop on and remember to hold your breath."

XXX

"What are you saying, Annabeth?" Chiron asked, frowning in concern from his fake wheel chair.

Annabeth nearly stamped her foot in frustration but decided against it, instead her hands clenched into painful fists. "We think that Percy's been cursed by Aphrodite, he's been acting weird all day and now he's just disappeared! We need permission to leave camp and go look for him."

"Oh, come now, dear, I'm sure he'll be back soon. I gave him a small quest of his own that's all."

Annabeth's neck prickled and her eyes widened at the soft voice coming from behind her, slowly she turned around and found herself face to face with the Goddess of Love herself. Aphrodite was perched on a table, her legs crossed and a small frown on her inscrutable face as she held a mirror up and turned her head from side to side. Those chocolate brown curls that had made Annabeth so jealous slid slowly over her shoulder. She was wearing a pale pink dress with matching high heels and when she finally looked up she smiled. "A-A…quest? What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing too difficult." The Goddess waved her hand dismissively. "He only had to rescue a damsel in distress and defeat the Cetus, I'm sure he will survive."

"C-Cetus?" Annabeth blinked, her lungs felt as if she had been doused in ice water. "Who is this damsel he's supposed to be saving?" She asked tightly, although she thought she already knew the answer.

"Why, Nico di Angelo of course! That boy is so desperately in love with your boyfriend I thought I would give him a taste of the possibilities. Of course it was little Nico who chose to give Percy my potion."

"N-Nico…g-gave Percy a potion?! Why?"

Aphrodite laughed softly. "Oh Annabeth, dear, you're supposed to be a daughter of Athena, I'm sure you can work it out."

"He's in love with Percy so he went to you to see if you could help him...? No. No I can't imagine he would do that, not after all the times he's helped us! He was such a sweet little kid. Why would he want do that? Why would he hurt us?"

Aphrodite sighed and shook her head, she looked over at Chiron who sat very still and silently watched the conversation. "Love and desire change people, you should know that. You changed when you realised your feelings for Percy and now Nico has done the same. I merely gave him a possible option, if I hadn't he would have thrown himself into the Lethe in an attempt to forget his painful unrequited love. Poor little dear." She put away her mirror and slid off of the table. "I did nothing to your boyfriend, Annabeth, I only gave Nico a choice and he made it."

"But…but you can reverse it, right? You can make the effects of the potion go away…c-can't you?" One look at the Goddess told Annabeth all she needed to know.

"I'm sorry, I cannot undo this. It is up to Nico to decide, we may only watch."

Annabeth sat down hard, she stared at the wall as tears burned her eyes savagely. "But we…we were going so well…"

"I told you Miss Chase, that I would ensure that your love life was interesting." Aphrodite smiled before nodding towards Chiron. "I must go now; I will be watching avidly to see what happens next, this is so exciting!" Annabeth barely thought about looking away, luckily she closed her eyes just in time as the Goddess exploded in white light.


	3. PART THREE

_AN: Last chapter and Nico learns his lesson the hard way. Thank you to all those who have taken the time to review, it is much appreciated. I hope you enjoyed this story, despite the fact that it went on a bit longer than I had originally intended._

**Choices Part Three**

The Hippocampi reached the shore of the beach by Camp Half-blood, Percy said his farewells as he and Nico stood ankle deep in water before watching the horses swim away. Finally they were gone. The sun had set and Nico felt a little shaky, the water around his feet was cold and he shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. "Come on, let's go back to camp." He muttered, shivering a little as a stiff breeze stirred his damp hair, he turned towards the shore but before he could reach the sand he tripped and fell. He managed to catch himself on his hands and roll over to find Percy staring down at him, laughing softly.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Nico insisted, sitting up and crawling away from the water before collapsing in exhaustion on dry land. "Just tired." He hadn't realised just how gruelling keeping his emotions in check could be, his eyes closed and he sighed heavily. He opened his eyes a crack to see Percy sitting at his side. "You should go back to camp, people will be wondering where you are. I'm sure Annabeth is worried."

"They'll be fine without me." Percy replied quietly, staring up into the night sky and leaning back on his hands.

"Annabeth loves you." Nico said softly, hoping to get Percy to think of his girlfriend, maybe it would snap him out of this weird spell he was under.

"But I don't love her," Percy replied with a chilling note in his voice. "There's only one person I want and that's you, Nico."

"Look, I don't want this!" Nico replied, sitting up and meeting Percy's eyes firmly. "You're different and I don't like it. The boy I-I liked was…well, he was kind for a start and would never mess me around like this. I think you must have ingested some of that potion in that soda, I thought I'd taken it off of you before you could drink any but obviously I was wrong. I'm sorry, Percy but you're meant to be with Annabeth." The words tasted bitter in his mouth and his face twisted in pain before he let out a slow breath and lowered his head. "Go back to her and they can help you." He whispered.

There was a brief pause as Percy frowned up at the sky before turning his eyes back to Nico, they flashed in anger and Nico felt a cold chill run down his spine. "So, you're just going to dump me?"

"Percy…we were never a couple to begin with!" Nico said in surprise at the vehemence in his friend's voice.

"Oh really? That's not the impression I got last night or today! The way you kissed me back there tells me that you wanted it!"

"No…I-I…I shouldn't have done that and I'm sorry! This is my fault! Totally my fault and I-I…I'm sorry! But we can't do this, you're with Annabeth, she loves you and you love her. It's meant to be, Percy! You're not gay!"

"Who cares? I don't love Annabeth anymore, I love you! I can't stop thinking about you, I dreamt of you all last night and I can't stop it! Nico," Percy pushed Nico onto his back and pinned him to the sand, Nico's eyes widened as Percy's lips claimed his once again, causing his heart to ache horribly and his eyes to sting. He could give in, a little voice in the back of his mind whispered, give in and he would have Percy all to himself. No more pain, no more bitterness. He would be happy. Perhaps Percy could come and live in the underworld with him and they'd be able to forget all the world's troubles and just be with each other, forever. His shaking hands rose and he pushed them into Percy's hair, tugging on it gently and returning his kiss despite the agony it caused. He could feel scolding tracks of tears running down his cheeks but he allowed himself a moment of weakness, a moment to pretend that he had everything. Finally his moment was shattered by a voice.

"Percy!"

Nico gasped, pushing Percy away from him and scrambling backwards as his dreams collapsed around him. He struggled to his feet, stumbling a little before backing away quickly. He watched as a girl with long blond hair tore past him and flew at Percy as if she was going to attack him, instead she pulled him into a tight embrace. Nico watched, his whole body feeling as cold as ice, his fingers numb and his chest aching.

"Where were you?! We've been looking everywhere!" Annabeth gasped, as she buried her face in the crook of her boyfriend's neck. "I was so scared. I thought you'd left me forever."

Percy pushed Annabeth away with an angry glare. "What are you doing here? I was having a good time with Nico."

Annabeth looked behind her at the small, rather bedraggled looking kid in the damp aviator jacket and jeans. He gazed at her through dark, sad eyes. "Oh yes, I forgot about him." She said softly and stood up, her hand brushing the hilt of her dagger, Nico saw the threat and lifted his hands.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for any of this to happen, it was an accident!"

Annabeth stalked forward furiously, "So Percy drugged himself did he? He willingly took the love potion given to you by Aphrodite, did he?"

Nico swallowed and took another step back, drawing closer to the shadows. He could hear others running towards the beach, calling their names but he didn't dare take his eyes off of Annabeth. "No, you're right. I put the potion in his drink, I wasn't thinking…I was hurt and I…I…well, it doesn't matter. When I realised he was actually going to drink it I tried to get it away from him and I thought I was successful but…but I wasn't, obviously."

"Because of you I've spent the whole day terrified that my boyfriend was either going to dump me or get himself killed! You have a lot to answer for, Nico."

Nico lowered his head, "I'm sorry. I wish I could undo it but I don't know how…maybe…maybe Aphrodite could?" He glanced up hopefully and saw Annabeth shake her head.

"She said she couldn't."

"But she's the Goddess of love, she has dominion over all those kinds of emotions!"

"She does but I think she's enjoying this too much to help us."

"Hey! Am I invisible here?" Percy's angry voice made them both turn to look at him, he was stood at the edge of the sea with waves lapping against his shoes, the moon highlighted him from behind like a giant spotlight and he crossed both arms across his chest. Nico could feel his anger from where he was stood and had to fight hard not to call upon the dead to protect him, but something told him that if they didn't deal with this correctly Percy could go nuclear.

"Percy, come on back to camp with us, Chiron is there and maybe we can find a way to help you." Annabeth said softly, smiling at him.

"No. I don't need to be helped, I'm fine. I want you to go away and leave me alone with Nico, we're going to be together forever, isn't that right?" He looked at Nico hopefully, like a puppy that wanted a treat for being a good boy.

Nico swallowed nervously, "Percy, we can't, I've already told you that."

"Why not? What's stopping you from wanting to be happy?!" Percy snapped, behind him the waves were getting increasingly bigger.

"Because I…b-because I don't want you." He said suddenly, feeling his heart breaking but hiding it behind a cool façade. In some ways it was true, he didn't want Percy if it was at the expense of his and Annabeth's happiness. He loved Percy enough to accept that he was straight and was unable to love him. "What I did was wrong and I hope you can forgive me for it, I was selfish and angry and acted stupidly. You need to go to Chiron and get some help, if anyone can get rid of this potion he can."

Annabeth moved away from Percy, fear flickering across her face. "We need to get him away from the sea." She whispered, her fingers tightening on her dagger hilt. She was right, Nico could see the fury in Percy's eyes, obviously the potion was turning him into an obsessive monster who could probably do some serious damage. "He's too strong here, if he starts getting really angry he could destroy everything."

"So all this…the kissing and everything…was…was a l-lie?" Percy seemed to radiate power, the sea behind him was receding rapidly, revealing wet sand and surprised fish in its wake.

"Percy, please, you have to calm down!" Nico shouted in desperation. "We can talk about this rationally if you want to just…just come with us and we'll go somewhere else!"

"Tidal wave." Annabeth whispered, her eyes wide in her face as the sea began pulling further and further away. "Oh gods…Percy…"

The ground rumbled ominously and Nico had to look around his feet just to make sure it wasn't him making the noise, the earth shuddered and there was a rushing sound like a loud wind through trees. He looked at Annabeth and grabbed her hand tightly. "You need to run! He's going to kill you if you're not gone by the time that water comes back and he'd never forgive himself!"

Annabeth seemed to stir slowly, as if she were coming out of a dream. "I can't leave him and anyway, what are you going to do?"

"I have no idea." Nico replied shakily. The ground rumbled again and Nico felt his foot hit something solid and freezing cold, he could feel it through his shoe. He looked down and found his Stygian Iron sword lying at his feet, glinting darkly in the moonlight. He snatched it up, much to Annabeth's horror. "I won't kill him, I hope," He added as an afterthought and turned to fully face Percy Jackson. "Percy, we don't want to fight you, just calm down or you'll kill us both!" He called, one last ditch attempt at calming the enraged boy down.

Percy smirked grimly, uncapping Riptide and lifting the blade up just as the rushing sound grew almost deafening. "If I can't have you, Nico di Angelo, then no one can!"

Nico barely had time to react as the biggest wall of water he had ever seen came rushing towards him at incredible speed. He planted his feet firmly and grabbed Annabeth with his sword-free hand and a wall of solid black granite erupted from the earth in a spray of sand, he turned and ducked, covering his head with his arm while ensuring to keep a firm grip on Annabeth. The water crashed into his wall, spilling around the sides and causing bits of it to crack off. It rushed over the top, dousing them both in freezing liquid, Nico sputtered and pushed wet hair from his eyes before opening them. Annabeth gaped at him mutely, seemingly unable to comprehend what had just happened. The wave of water crashed through the trees of the forest behind them, destroying half of it and drowning the rest in one fell swoop. Nico was too slow to recover, before he could get back to his feet Annabeth rushed out from behind his protective wall, screaming Percy's name. He followed her, yanking her back behind him and levelling his sword at Percy who stood exactly where he had been, sword in hand and completely dry.

"Percy, stop this! It's insane! Please!" Annabeth cried helplessly, she could hear others standing nearby, watching and muttering in horror. But her voice seemed to fall on deaf ears, Percy lifted his sword and the water behind him began to rise once again at his command. Nico gasped and plunged his own blade into the sand beneath him, the earth rumbled ominously and, with a loud crack, it opened. The gap worked its way towards Percy who leaped backwards to avoid it.

"I won't have you with anyone else, Nico. If you don't choose me then you're going to have to die." Without further warning he leapt towards Nico, sword raised and a furious, hurt look in his narrowed green eyes. Nico was so stunned he almost didn't react, at the last second he managed to snap himself out of his shock and lift his blade to counter Percy but the force of the strike made his whole arm go numb. Their faces were brought close, Nico was engulfed in Percy's scent and it almost made him drop his guard but he managed to push Percy back a pace and slam his foot on the ground which rumbled again, this time skeletal hands pushed their way out of the sand, reaching and searching until one found Percy's ankle. Nico backed off until he was a safe distance away, gasping as he tried to regain his scattered thoughts. He didn't want to fight; he didn't want to risk hurting his friend. One nick of his blade could kill Percy in an instant; he had to ensure that he didn't get involved in too much close-combat. He watched Percy struggling to disentangle himself from the grasp of dead fingers, he cursed and muttered, kicking the hands apart only to find himself caught by more.

"P-Percy…please, don't do this!" Annabeth muttered, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Nico pulled her gently backwards as Percy advanced menacingly. "Not again! I can't go through another betrayal!"

"It's not his fault, it's mine." Nico replied quietly, keeping his eyes glued to his temporarily disabled opponent. "I caused this, I have to undo it."

"Don't hurt him. If you hurt him, I'll kill you." Annabeth hissed, her eyes flashing and making Nico feel even more guilty than he already did.

"I'll try not to." Nico said, unable to give her any more than that. "But if he engages me in close combat again it's going to be difficult keeping myself from scratching him, without getting myself hurt." Annabeth didn't reply, she eyed the evil looking sword for a moment before returning her gaze back to her boyfriend. He was grateful she didn't say that she would rather he got hurt than Percy, admittedly Celestial Bronze could wound Nico but, unlike his sword, if Percy cut him he would only bleed, rather than have his life absorbed by the metal.

Finally Percy was free again, he roared and the sea answered him by smashing into Nico, sending him tumbling into a tree. He coughed up water, rolling onto all fours and gasping, spitting salt from his mouth before scrabbling out of the way as Riptide seemed to appear from nowhere, slicing into the tree with a soft thud. As he tried to get back to his feet Percy tackled him, driving him to the floor and sending his sword skittering away into the darkness. Nico gasped and rolled onto his back, staring up at Percy whose sword point hovered above his heart. "I-I'm sorry, Nico…I just can't let you live if you're not going to be with me! I can't stand the idea of you finding someone else! Don't you see how much I love you? I'd kill for you! If you wanted me to I'd kill anyone…" His eyes moved to Annabeth who was still nearby, gazing on at the fight in horror. "I'll kill Annabeth to prove to you how much I want you. Would that prove to you how much I love you? Would you change your mind if I did that?" He looked so sad and desperate Nico sympathised but he wouldn't allow Percy to hurt anyone else, he reached up and grabbed Riptides blade, moving the point back to his chest.

"It wouldn't matter if you killed every single Half-blood in camp, Percy…I don't want you." He hissed, using every ounce of his courage to build up the walls that had surrounded his heart, shutting his real feelings off from the rest of the world. His fingers tightened on the blade, he could feel the edge piercing his skin and blood trickling down his wrist. "I will never want you, not like this. It's me you're angry at, don't try to blame anyone else. I got you into this mess."

Percy's face twisted and the earth rumbled again, the sea churned, causing waves to hit the beach with such force the leaves in the trees rattled. "Then I'll kill you! I'll…I'll send you back to your father in pieces!" Tears sprung from Percy's eyes and traced their way down his cheeks, Nico watched them as Riptide was torn from his grip and Percy lifted it above him with both hands. "Goodbye, Nico." Percy sobbed and brought the blade down. The ground cracked open with a sound like a gunshot, Percy gasped, the tip of his blade inches from Nico's chest, he slid sideways, arms pin wheeling before falling. Nico saw a massive arm made entirely of sea water break off from its main body and dive towards the crack in the earth, it surrounded Percy in a fist and dragged him free again where he struggled uselessly against it. Nico sat up, looking around to see something that shocked the breath out of his lungs. Poseidon himself stood at the edge of the sea, his arms folded as he looked up at his furiously struggling son, he turned his gaze to Nico who felt suddenly extremely small and extremely vulnerable.

"What have you done to Percy, Son of Hades?" Poseidon said, his voice as powerful as a storm ridden sea.

"He has done nothing, brother." Nico turned so fast his neck cracked and his winced, his father emerged from the shadows and Nico understood that the crack had been his doing, he stepped up to the huge rent in the earth and it closed with a grinding snap. "This is the doing of Aphrodite, not of our sons."

"He gave Percy that damned potion, he made him nearly destroy Long Island!"

"Zeus would never allow us to interfere if he thought this was merely a petty squabble between two demigods, you know that as well as I do."

"LET ME GO!" Percy screamed furiously, causing his father to sigh heavily and shake his head.

"Aphrodite has interfered enough, it is time we ended this before things get out of hand, we cannot have our children causing another war like the last one." Hades said slowly, his voice level and perfectly reasonable. Nico stood up on shaking legs, he bent and picked up his sword from where it had fallen before sheathing it and moving to his father's side.

"Father, I-I'm sorry…this is all my fault, I should have-" Hades sent a glare in his direction and Nico looked at his feet.

"See, even your boy admits he's at fault! He must be held to account!" Poseidon said furiously, his trident appeared in his hand, flickering with power and Nico took an uncertain step back, hoping he wasn't about to be turned into a sea slug.

"No, this will not do. Aphrodite is the only one who can prevent an all out war between our children, she must come and undo what she has wrought."

Poseidon lowered his trident, stroking his beard as he considered his brother. "Fine, do as you will. Aphrodite, we know you're watching!"

There was a moment of utter silence, even the sea seemed to wait in anticipation before suddenly there Aphrodite appeared, lounging elegantly on a chez lounge, holding a TV remote control in her hand and pouting like a stroppy teenager. "Aw, this was just getting good!" She sighed and got to her feet, stretching her arms above her head. "Even Ares was watching avidly and he _hates_ my romance shows."

"Undo what you did to my son!" Poseidon demanded angrily. "This has to stop now, it has gone beyond dangerous."

"Oh fine, spoil sport." She stepped up to where Percy still struggled valiantly and the water that held him drifted to her level, she reached up and put two fingers to his chest. Percy gasped, throwing his head back, his eyes glowing pink before abruptly slumping forward as if unconscious. Poseidon let him down gently so that he was sprawled on the sand, he knelt by his side as Percy began coughing and retching as if he had been drowning. Finally a tiny white pearl popped out of his mouth and rolled to Aphrodite's feet, she bent and picked it up with a smile. "There, now he'll wake up with virtually no side effects." She said an pocketed the pearl. "Happy now?"

"Not entirely, I'm sure Zeus will have something to say about you messing with our children's lives in such a manner." Hades said.

"Also, what side effects?" Annabeth surprised everyone by walking up to Percy's side and kneeling, she ran her fingers through his hair and looked up at the Goddess, her eyes narrowed in badly suppressed rage.

"Oh, he'll wake up with a headache and no memory of what happened to him." Aphrodite smiled. "The potion may still linger in his bloodstream for a few weeks but that will eventually dissipate, not to worry, dear. Percy will soon be back to the loving boyfriend he was before this started."

"He had better be." Annabeth muttered darkly, before returning her attention to her unconscious boyfriend.

"As for you, Nico, sweetheart!" Aphrodite walked over to him, Nico raised his hand warily and backed away.

"Don't come near me!" He growled, causing tiny cracks to appear in the earth at his feet.

"Oh now, don't be so silly. I gave you what you wanted, didn't I? A taste of what you could never have. You made your choice, Nico, and you witnessed the consequences."

Nico sighed, relaxing and letting his shoulders slump in defeat. She was right. "I've learnt my lesson, I know I was selfish and unkind and I should never have even contemplated being anything more to Percy than just a friend…I'm not…I'm not worthy of him." His eyes lingered on Annabeth and Percy by the beach, he took a deep breath. "He's happy and I shouldn't have taken that away from him, I shouldn't think I can play with people's lives for my own selfish desires."

"Excellent! You _did_ learn your lesson!" Aphrodite smiled and moved back towards her sofa. "Now, if you don't mind I want to take a nice long hot bath and perhaps read some books for a while, all this excitement has exhausted me." She waved her hand and, in a flash, was gone.

Nico felt his father's freezing fingers dig into his shoulder, he looked up at him. "We must leave, before Zeus decides that he will take his wrath out on you for forcing us Gods to interfere with Mortal affairs, come, Nico, Persephone awaits me."

Nico nodded and allowed his father to steer him into the shadows reluctantly, he looked back to see Annabeth and Percy embracing after he had obviously regained consciousness. Pain lanced at his heart and he sighed heavily, closing his eyes and returning his attention to where he really belonged, the Underworld.


End file.
